Shadow of the Bat
by Dr. Doodle
Summary: *NEW* TDK sequel. The mob is at war & a wealthy socialite by the name of Oswald Cobblepot gets involved. Crane's involvement is suspected concerning deaths linked to his fear toxin & unusual events begin to threaten Wayne Enterprises. Harley/Edward.
1. The Dawn is Coming

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I got inspired to make changes and do a little research after reading 'Dark Victory' so here is the improved version of 'Shadow of the Bat'. Chapter 3 has been re-written near enough by the way & I hope you all enjoy and please feel free to tell me what you think :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything DC apart from characters created myself.

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**The Dawn is Coming**

The dawn broke over Gotham and it was officially a new day. It had been five months since certain events concerning a homicidal maniac whom nobody wanted to mention the name of had near enough rotted the city away from within, needless to say morale of the city was at an all time low. Gotham was in turmoil as the peoples' beliefs had been shaken. The White Knight that was supposed to save them was no more, murdered by the one they once trusted the safety of the city with. So many of his actions during the events were questions left unanswered. How could he have let so many people die and then let Harvey Dent take the heat for it? The he let that unnameable maniac of all people live, how could he do that? Did this masked vigilante care about human life at all? Was he even human? Of course, he must have been. This still didn't change the fact that the urban myth that was Batman had become a symbol of hatred for many people.

Maybe he really was no better than _him_. Maybe the Batman had been simply fooling them all into making them believe he was something he was not since he first arrived on the scene a little less than year ago? Then again, he did help save the city. So what the hell was going on with the Dark Knight? Gotham appeared to be divided in their opinion of him; he still had his supporters that didn't believe the story of Dent to be true and understood his unwillingness to give into the terrorists demands. A lot of others were in a limbo about what to believe. As for everyone else they had pretty much made up their minds that Batman was a monster – no better than he who shall not be named. Maybe he _had_ in a way succeeded in bringing the Batman down to his level after all? What the people of Gotham didn't know is that _he_ had forced Batman to do something; he ultimately had to make a choice. Killing Harvey Dent to save Jim Gordon's son, _he_ would obviously be ecstatic when he found out what had happened. After all, it was all a part of the plan – and what a _glorious_ plan it was.

Front pages of various newspapers graced mug shots of his mangled face deprived of makeup and it had been that way for months. It appeared that somebody working on the force had leaked them out to the press for a handsome sum of money – after all, you could get anything you wanted in Gotham if you were willing to pay the right price. Recent news of his committal to Arkham had spread like wildfire throughout the city that loathed him.  
**The Gotham Times:** '_PSYCHOPATHIC CLOWN COMMITTED TO ARKHAM'  
_**The Gotham Gazette: **'_SATAN HIMSELF SENT TO HELL ON EARTH'  
_**The Gotham Post:** '_GOTHAM'S MONSTER GIVEN HIS CAGE'_  
To certain disturbed individuals he was a martyr of chaos, a tyrant of spectacular abilities. Although this small group of followers were desperate to repeat such actions, they would wait for their man of the hour to call upon them for escape plans. Once he was out they would assist him in his quest to watch the city they hated burn. It was only a matter of time; he would send them a sign. He had his ways. He always had an option, another _plan_. Until then, the rest of Gotham could only hope for a fate worse than death to come to him, to them that son of a bitch would deserve every bit of pain included in it.

The hustle and bustle of the city was an even more unsettled one. The morning traffic, as usual, was gruelling so the honking of car horns and general feeling of frustration was inevitable. However the heat wave that had recently swept across the city didn't make the waiting any more pleasant. Amongst this morning madness of beeping vehicles and unbearable heat stood Wayne Tower, the crown jewel in Gotham's skyline. This was the place that all people of business wanted to be, the billion dollar company that they all aspired to work for. It was the top of the ladder and only the most capable individuals in their field of expertise were permitted to work there. Chances are, if you'd made it all the way to Wayne Tower, you were one of the best.

Within the structure of Wayne Tower were many different departments of interest. One of which had been of particular interest was the Applied Sciences Division, unknowingly to those that worked in the building; it was the source for all of Batman's equipment. Various vehicles that had been designed by Lucius Fox and worked on intensively, the tanks, the bikes, even the suits – the man was clearly a driving force concerning the existence of Batman. With the vastly improved Bat Cave underneath the newly rebuilt Wayne Manor, there would be more than enough room for such glorious inventions. There was still a little work to do on the place as the man himself Bruce Wayne had to build it in with his own two hands – with a little help from Alfred of course. After all, how could he explain such a thing to those working on rebuilding the place? Surely the bat would have been let out of the bag then. No eccentricities could explain such a thing, after all can the rich can afford to be strange but not that strange.

In the depths of the under construction Bat Cave, Lucius had been contributing towards the project in his own special way, of course with Bruce helping along. A computer of the highest technological advancements was being put in place for the Dark Knight's own personal use, much like that in the Bat Bunker** but with a lot more screens, there must have been about 30 in total. The spyware would be added at a later date if necessary by Bruce himself as Lucius would never have agreed to build such a thing if he knew this. Various CCTV cameras would be watched on said computer – banks, GCPD, night clubs, pretty much everywhere that was a target for criminal activity. The only place free from CCTV was Arkham. It seemed Arkham was a difficult place to bug but Bruce didn't have the time to worry about it as he was far too busy with other things.

Bruce was 'sick' on this particular day and had decided to take a day off work to get ahead on the Bat Cave. He didn't really need an excuse, he was the boss after all so he didn't really have to answer to anybody but still, he needed to keep up appearances to his employees and various business partners. The company's reputation reflected off him, even if he was acting as a lothario in the public eye, it was still publicity and ultimately a disguise. Besides, how could such a 'selfish' person be associated with a masked vigilante that appeared to help people? Bruce knew if he was uncovered now, due to recent events he would lose everything. Naturally now more than ever was important to keep the Batman's identity a secret.

As Bruce worked away on the computer with his tool kit using some cleverly compiled instructions drawn up by Lucius himself to help him, a clattering tray made its way down the new metal staircase. All the way down from a secret entrance recently built into the manor. Bruce didn't bother to look up from what he was doing, he knew the clattering tray didn't really want to disturb him but he knew it probably would anyway. The tray stopped as it was placed on a small metal table.

"Sick again I see?" the friendly voice asked sarcastically. Bruce decided to slide out from underneath the unfinished invention and bicker to this distraction of his. Getting up he saw his old friend and guardian Alfred standing there watching him as usual. Why must he always distract him whilst he was trying to work on something that was this important? Then again he could never hold a grudge against Alfred for anything; he'd done so much for him and continued to do so. Maybe it was the lack of sleep that was making Bruce so cranky? The heat wave had been merciless and Wayne Manor still had no air conditioning working properly so he guessed that must have been the reason why.

"What have you come down with this time? Not a bad case of diarrhoea I hope." Alfred commented with a slight smirk, he always did have a childish nature about him. Bruce scoffed and smirked at the remark, typical Alfred making jokes at his expense. He took a seat on one of the aluminium chairs next to the small metal table, sweating from working for so long. Alfred took a guess that he'd been up pretty early working on this thing and this new found obsession of his was possibly there to take his mind off the passing of Rachel and Harvey.

"No but I'll let you know if there's any developments there." Bruce fired back trying hard not to laugh. The childishness was practically dripping off him but it was fun to be able to take life a little less seriously again. Since the deaths of Rachel and Harvey, Bruce had been questioning a lot of things and been in an emotional limbo. He had been in a pretty bad state until the Bat Cave project came into the picture so in a way it was keeping him happy. What was worrying for Alfred would be when he no longer had it to occupy him. The devil of a human being who had caused all of this reflection and bottled up emotions for Bruce haunted his dreams often, there were nights when his sick demented laughter repeated in his head until it startled him awake. That monster had taken so much away from him and ironically he'd also changed things forever in his own special way. However _he_ was the last thing Bruce wanted on his mind right now.

"I couldn't sleep again, it's so damn hot up there I'm starting to think I'd be better off sleeping down here." Bruce informed Alfred who knew all too well what he meant. The heat wave wasn't helping the situation any further as the air conditioning in Wayne Manor had already broken so it hadn't been easy sailing. Would have thought getting someone to fix it would be no problem for the Prince of Gotham but with the heat wave, it was difficult to get hold of anybody. Bruce guessed people living in the city who needed the help a lot more than he did were the ones getting it and for now that suited him just fine. Though Bruce still had his penthouse in the city fully air conditioned, Wayne Manor was his real home and besides, he couldn't very well go through the bother of driving back and forth from the apartment to the manor so often to do work on the Bat Cave.

"Well the air conditioning should be fixed up sooner or later. Would've thought we'd have no trouble getting someone out here but I suppose it's a busy time with the heat wave and all. By the by how many sick days is this now?" Alfred summed up exactly what Bruce was thinking and then questioned. He wished Alfred hadn't done this, he felt like a kid being scolded by a teacher.

"They weren't all sick days but I'm not sure Alfred, why don't you tell me? You're good at keeping track of these things." Bruce maintained his cheeky charm as he picked up a cup of coffee off the tray and took a sip. It was a shame that nobody else got to see the real Bruce Wayne but Alfred and Lucius. They were the only two people who really knew what he was like and the only two who knew he was in fact the Dark Knight. Bruce had thought about telling Commissioner Gordon who he really was since the accident but he figured the less people who knew who he really was the better. Although he trusted Gordon, the truth was that Batman was now a fugitive. He knew that Gordon wouldn't turn him in as he was still secretly meeting with him every now and then however Bruce had come to the conclusion that uncovering himself to Gordon wasn't on a need to know basis. He knew Gordon wasn't bothered about who the man under the mask was, he was just happy he had someone to fight the good fight with him because at the end of the day, that was all that really mattered. Besides he considered himself forever in Batman's debt for what he'd done to save him and his family.

"Well sir, I believe it's been a month and a half's worth over the past four." Alfred informed Bruce whose eyebrows shot up in mock surprise. Of course he knew he'd taken a lot of time off but he hadn't really been keeping track of the days. To be quite frank, Bruce couldn't have cared less how much time he'd taken off as he was doing something so much more important. It's not like the company was going to go under without him being there.

"You know I can't help but wonder what your business partners would think of your cancelling meetings to play hooky all this time." Alfred continued trying to make Bruce feel guilty for his neglectful actions on the company's behalf. Bruce took another sip from his cup of coffee and proceeded to get up off his chair and take a look at what he'd achieved with the computer so far whilst talking to Alfred.

"Well, if I tell them I'm sick or had to go out of town on urgent business then at least I'm keeping up appearances. Besides if I was playing hooky I wouldn't have been doing anything with my time and as you can see, I'm a busy man." Bruce said as he picked up a screwdriver and motioned towards the under constructed computer. Alfred did his best not to roll his eyes because Bruce did have a point. The Bat Cave was in dire need of attention and this was something that needed to be done.

"I suppose you're right, it was just the reputation of the company I was concerned about." He concluded and Bruce shook his head slightly.

"There's nothing to be concerned about Alfred, Wayne Enterprises is doing fine without me. It's in more than capable hands." Bruce knew he was neglecting the company again but as far as he was concerned, the family business would have to take a backseat to something much more important. He was Batman and despite a lot of people's beliefs in Gotham, he was still needed to clean up the streets. However what Bruce would never give into was the fact he was exhausted. Running away from the police on top of fighting crime was making this double life of his that much more difficult, he could handle it of course but there was ultimately a price for that and it appeared that this price was taking its toll on him.

"Yes, well your health hasn't exactly been in the good books lately either." Alfred told him, he knew this lack of rest was doing Bruce no good. The nightmares, this heat, the work on the bat cave, the company, the police chasing him and fighting crime – he had a lot of things on his plate. There was also always the threat of the maniac's escape constantly hanging over his head, being committed to Arkham meant he couldn't keep an eye on him and that would have unnerved Bruce if he didn't have so many things to worry about already.

"What are you talking about? I feel better than ever." Bruce refused to believe he'd taken all he could. He was a fighter and a damn good one at that.

"I don't think that's true, I think this is all a bit too much for you if you ask me. You know you could do with a proper vacation, you haven't exactly had much time to relax with being chased by the police, catching criminals as well as other things." Alfred said and Bruce knew immediately that he was referring to his grieving of Rachel as well as the incident with Harvey. He still blamed himself, this was evident but Alfred tried his best to mention it as little as possible. Right now it seemed appropriate to get Bruce to pay attention and it did.

"I know you're concerned about me but I don't have the time to take a vacation right now. I just need to get this thing done so I can help the city get back on its feet again." Bruce's voice sounded somewhat defeated, not like his usual self at all but he couldn't be blamed for that, he was under a lot of pressure after all. Alfred however stifled a laugh at the remark of Gotham getting back on its feet, although he knew what Bruce was getting at, the city never was in very good shape to begin with.

"You make it sound like Gotham was actually standing on its own two feet at one point sir." Bruce took this in and nodded slightly in agreement, he got what Alfred meant but he liked to think it wasn't this bad whilst Harvey was around. If truth be told it really wasn't because when Harvey was around Gotham appeared to have a brighter future. Now that he was gone, that brighter future seemed uncertain.

"Well, in comparison to now it was." Bruce concluded and proceeded in kneeling down, screwdriver in hand still and looking at Lucius' instructions, deciphering what parts went where. Of course he still didn't have all of them but Lucius was working on that. Alfred walked over to where Bruce was looking at the instructions given by Lucius and glanced over the computer that was actually shaping up quite nicely.

"How long do you think it'll be till it's finished?" Alfred asked a thoughtful Bruce who was now mulling over the complexities of the machine. He was a smart man but damn did Lucius know how to make simple things sound confusing. Bruce looked up at Alfred who was now practically standing over his shoulder looking down on the instructions now.

"Right now I'm not too sure, Lucius didn't give me an estimated time on it. Hopefully it'll be within the next week or so, depends how fast I can get it together and how long it takes for him to finish off the other parts for me to test it out." Bruce tightened another screw up on it. It was a huge thing, easily eight times larger than the average computer. Alfred was quite impressed with how quick the thing could be put together but he was still concerned about his young master. How could Lucius ever fall for this after last time? Bruce really couldn't risk losing the help of such an intelligent man who was already in on the secret.

"Well, good luck with that sir, especially with telling Mr. Fox what you're planning to do with it. I'm surprised he hasn't already had suspicions since the last one." Alfred told him, thinking for sure that Lucius would detest to whatever Bruce was planning to do with this. He threatened to quit his job the last time such a machine was in use, though this time Bruce wouldn't be picking up on people's cell phone calls to track people down. That would secretly have to be used as a last resort. He needed Lucius on his side if he was going to carry on saving the city.

"I'm sure he has but he already knows how necessary his help is. I couldn't have done it without him last time Alfred so effectively if he helps me, he helps the city. After all with everything taken into account, he's the only one who can." Bruce informed Alfred who nodded in agreement. It was funny how the idea of Batman had gone beyond one man as it needed three others to survive; Alfred himself, Lucius and Jim Gordon. It made Alfred happy in a strange way to think of this, they were like a team together without even knowing it. They all had their responsibilities to help and in their own way they all did what was needed to save the city. Even to save Batman himself on occasions.

"I see, well I shall leave you to it then." Alfred concluded and made his way over to the stairs, leaving the tray of coffee behind for Bruce who let out a deep sigh and looked up at the computer. He was feeling the stress but he wouldn't let it get him down. Alfred heard this and looked over at Bruce who looked exhausted. That's when he remembered some advice he'd given him five months ago. He felt it was relevant; it always seemed to be with Bruce because the fact was that he never quite knew when to quit.

"Oh and Master Bruce?" Alfred shouted from the staircase as he stopped on his way up into the house. Bruce naturally turned around to see what he wanted, hoping he wasn't going to say something critical again. He didn't need the stress of it right now.

"Know your limits." Alfred told him for the second time and smirked knowingly at him. Bruce smiled and nodded, he was all too familiar with this. Though it reminded him of that time, it strangely provided him with some sort of comfort. It reinforced his belief a little and he knew just what to say back.

"Can't afford to old friend, can't afford to." He repeated and proceeded to get back to his work. Alfred smiled and carried on his way up the stairs shaking his head.

"Stubborn as always, just like his father." he mumbled to himself as he went to see if the news had anything to offer them.


	2. Perserverance

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I changed this one slightly because I don't want Harleen to be interested in the Joker's case from the get go. Someone else needs the spotlight :)

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**Perseverance**

The atmosphere in Arkham Asylum had been even more unsettling as of late as the Joker had made his presence well known. He'd lost his first psychologist already, Dr. Charles Miller whom refused to be in the same room as him after a week of attempted manipulation started to take its toll. In other words, he got out before his sanity started to slip. The Joker had been harassing the nurses as well as trying to provoke other various members of staff. In fact, there had been a few cases of guards trying to give him a piece of their mind but failed due to jobs being threatened for the protection of the patient though what they didn't know was that the big boss man Dr. Jeremiah Arkham wasn't in a position to fire anybody under any circumstances no matter how out of line they were.

Arkham was desperate for staff after Dr. Crane's incident nearly a year ago and weeding out the bent guards was a difficult task but it was Commissioner Gordon that ultimately helped in this. Who would've thought those seemingly 'decent' people had such strong connections to the mob? However for all Jeremiah Arkham knew, there were still bent guards and nurses working there, maybe even doctors such as Crane? After all everybody had loans to pay off, mortgages to get rid of and possible medical bills up the yin yang. It was merely a matter of blind faith that kept the place running. Within a week the Joker had been moved to the top floor of the west wing and into solitary. He had been informed of Dr. Arkham's refusal to allow him to live alongside the other inmates until he could display acceptable behaviour towards the members of staff. So there he was in solitary, not saying a word to get back in with the boys downstairs. After all, these crazies would be so much _fun_ to play with – he of all people would know.

The first floor on the north wing of the asylum had also been pretty eventful. It seems that an enthusiastic female doctor was determined to pester the boss again. Recently moved over from New York, she was the new girl on the block though she was no stranger to Gotham as she was a former friend of Dr. Jonathan Crane, a man whom ironically went from doctor to patient in Arkham due to his own carelessness. However, it was the third time this week she had interrupted the boss in his office concerning the treatment of this man and it was becoming tiresome for him.

She had been relentless in her requests so far, though it was a good quality in any human being; it wasn't for him when he was on the receiving end of her bothersome attitude. Her delicate features should have proven otherwise with her angelic blonde hair, porcelain skin and baby blues but the truth was that this woman had thick skin. After all, she would never have lasted with the criminally insane if she didn't possess that tough streak. She also would have been no good at what she did and she'd proven herself to be one of the best in the field. So many success stories attached themselves to her and each one was more challenging than the last. Arkham definitely needed this woman as part of the team and she knew this all too well. She knew how bad the place was holding up in terms of staff and took full advantage of this. It's what allowed her to assert herself that little bit more without the fear of being fired. Though she never let the display of her respect for him falter, after all she still had her manners and common decency.

In his office, Jeremiah sat there in silence, glaring over the rims of his glasses at the woman sitting on the opposite side of the desk. He wanted her to know how annoyed he was that she'd decided to bother him about this again. She knew it and she'd pretty much summed up in her mind what he was going to say as it was the same every time but she wasn't a quitter. Jeremiah sighed heavily and leaned forward in his chair, taking a sip from his mug.

"I know why you're here Quinzel and we've already been over this twice before. I thought I'd made myself clear when I said I wouldn't allow you to treat this patient under _any_ circumstances. You know the rules and I believe any participation in his treatment from a past acquaintance would only stump his progress. One would have to question what kind of psychiatric institution we would be if we allowed this sort of unethical treatment to take place. Doctors and patients should have a strictly professional relationship and nothing more, you above anyone should know this considering your years of experience." Jeremiah informed Harleen for the third time. He looked defiant over her but she knew that she still had to try and push for this.

"I understand the lack of ethics that surround me treating Dr. Crane sir but I believe with some unconventional methods I could really – "with this Harleen was cut off mid sentence as Jeremiah raised his hand to silence her.

"Stop right there." He could feel his blood beginning to boil; this woman seemed to consider herself as a crusader. She wanted to help EVEYBODY, including those she knew and her undermining of ethics was enough to make him sick. He was expecting so much more than this, someone more obedient like Dr. Adams but maybe that was too much to ask for? He wished he could fire her right now but it just wasn't that simple unfortunately, he hated how much she was needed because he knew she'd be a constant thorn in his side. It delighted him now to see her face change instantly when he interrupted her, the mixture of offense and anger was priceless but he didn't indulge in this too long before he carried on speaking.

"Look doctor, the truth is that the asylum has received enough of a bad reputation in recent years without dabbling in something such as this. Our ethics are the only thing that's keeping us civilized and as you can imagine, Crane's lack of them didn't exactly help us redeem our image any further. I can't afford that kind of negligence to be displayed again on any level." He concluded and with that Harleen came to the realisation that the reputation of the asylum was in dire need of becoming acceptable again. She wanted to help her old friend of course but she also wanted to be recognised as a driving force in deriving the institution's name from the gutter.

"I understand that the reputation of the institution is important Dr. Arkham so if you won't allow me to be Jonathan's psychiatrist then I wish to pay him friendly visits instead." She told him which he seemed surprised about, he thought for sure she would have continued to push this but was relieved that he was free of it now that she had decided to compromise. Though the thought occurred to him that she may have been trying to use this as a tip toe towards a patient/doctor environment but he knew how to overcome this.

"Well I can't exactly deny you those privileges Dr. Quinzel. However, if you want friendly visits with Crane then I suggest you do it on your own time, not mine. As you already know, visiting hours take place on weekends so you can take pride in joining the general public who are crazy enough to come here in _their_ spare time." He told her and smirked slightly as he looked down at some of his notes and wrote something down. Harleen was expecting something a little more intimate and relaxed. Maybe not a patient/doctor environment but maybe something much closer to that. The thought of it was disappointing to her.

"With all due respect sir, I really think it would be better if I saw him in a more relaxed environment." She pressed on him. It was typical, once she had come to a compromise she had even more demands on top of it but he'd expected this from her. His slyness exuded once more as he looked up from his notes at her over the rim of his glasses.

"_With all due respect_ Dr. Quinzel, that's not your choice. You want to see him as a friend so you get all the privileges that come with being a friend of an inmate meaning reinforced glass and high security. You can take it or leave it but this is the only way I will allow you to meet with Crane under any circumstances." He mocked and proceeded to watch Harleen become much more uncomfortable, knowing she wasn't in control of the situation anymore. Although Arkham needed her, she needed the asylum all the same, it was her big challenge and one of the main reasons she'd moved back to Gotham from New York. God how she hated to compromise completely but it had to be done.

"Fine, I'll come back on Saturday." She told him, trying her best not to sound defeated. Jeremiah was trying to hide his joy in this but still smirked at her with an aura of smugness about him.

"Perfect; end of discussion. You may leave now Dr. Quinzel, you have one of _yours_ waiting for you downstairs I believe." He informed her which she already knew. She had a 10 o'clock appointment with a homicidal paranoid schizophrenic but as far as Harleen was concerned, it was pretty run of the mill. However instead of getting lost in her thoughts, Harleen stood up and turned around to leave when she stopped in her tracks as her boss opened his mouth again.

"Oh and one more thing," he called her back and she was actually dreading what he had to say. It couldn't have been good whatever it was, she'd pretty much gathered that Jeremiah didn't like her. She knew this because she actually had the balls to stand up for what she believed in, she was a strong woman and it surfaced pretty well.

"Yes sir?" Harleen asked as she turned back to him.

"If you carry on trying to push the bar with me like this I'll have to seriously start considering your future at this institution. Up until now your reputation's been the only thing keeping me from dismissing you so I suggest you tread a little more carefully around me from now on, understand?" Harleen tried her hardest not to laugh at the empty threat but kept a straight face and simply nodded in confirmation.

"Yes Dr. Arkham, thank you for your time," she said obediently just as he had wanted her to and swiftly exited the room. The obedience she displayed was just to shut him up and he had no idea. It would also take a great deal of perseverance for her to achieve her goal but she would do it eventually. She'd get the patient she wanted. On top of this she got to see Jonathan, though she dreaded what state he'd be in. However, she knew it would also be interesting to see how much he had changed. Interesting but terrifying.


	3. Bodies in 'The Sapphire Lounge'

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I'm proud to say that I've changed this chapter because I've changed the story significantly so I hope you enjoy :)

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**Bodies in 'The Sapphire Lounge'**

There had been a considerable amount of changes in the Gotham City Police Department. A new Detective by the name of Sarah Essen had been appointed to replace Detective Anna Ramirez after the discovery of the part she played in the death of Rachel Dawes and kidnapping of both her and Harvey Dent. Gordon thought she was willing to do anything to fight the good fight but obviously she wasn't the heroic type and would rather save her own skin than those of innocent people. Sure she was desperate for the money concerning what happened with Harvey and Rachel but to sell out her morals in such a way was unforgivable. Ultimately she wanted to save her mother and in doing so she let two innocent people be kidnapped and one murdered. That was something she would forever have on her conscience. The heartbreaking irony of it all was that through all the bribery and deception, her mother didn't survive.

The new girl, Detective Sarah Essen, a blonde haired, blue eyed and overall sultry woman in appearance, had transferred from Chicago to Gotham to aid Commissioner Gordon in ensuring justice for its citizens. Though her appearance could have fooled many into thinking she hadn't the guts or brains to go up against the mob, the actuality of Sarah Essen's character was the complete opposite. The main reason for her transfer was proof of this enough as Essen had been working on dismantling the power the Viti crime family had in Chicago, very much like Gordon she was fighting the good fight no matter how far she had to go. The realisation that Essen made during her post in her home town was that of most of the Viti family's filthy money actually came from family ties in Gotham and as a result of this, the larger the scale of the Roman Empire became and the more threatening it was made to Commissioner Gordon.

It was 10 a.m. and less than an hour earlier the police had been called to the scene of a crime downtown. Commissioner Gordon was a busy man but had taken time out to look at the scene after he'd heard it was double homicide. In a place like Gotham he knew this meant that there was potentially something much bigger going on behind it and he wanted to find out what. Double homicide unfortunately wasn't uncommon in Gotham, for Gordon it had become almost routine after being on the force for so long. This particular one took place in a bar in downtown Gotham called 'The Sapphire Lounge'.

There was something about the heat of the morning air that made being there that more irritable. Gordon had been on edge for weeks, running after the Batman making sure he didn't get caught and trying to get the city back on its feet again was tiring in itself. Unfortunately due to his many responsibilities now, the paperwork that came with his new post alone was enough to drive a man crazy, the simpler times of being Lieutenant were definitely missed but at least as Commissioner he could make a real difference. He pulled up outside where the bar was and noticed that the place wasn't too glamorous. 'The Sapphire Lounge' was small, dark and situated right by an alleyway, everything about it screamed out 'typical crime scene' to Gordon. He'd already figured that to come to a place like this in Gotham, you would definitely have to have connections with some dangerous people just to avoid a mugging. As Gordon walked past the police vehicles parked outside the alleyway he took a quick look around and decided that this must have been mob related. The place in itself was enough to tell this was so. The entrance to the bar had been taped as a crime scene and Gordon knew that the press would already be on their way so he decided to take a trip down the alley to the side entrance. There were two armed Officers situated outside the door to prevent anyone from passing.

"Morning gentlemen," Gordon acknowledged them politely as he approached the door.

"Good morning Commissioner Gordon," both Officers replied with a respectful nod and let Gordon through. Upon entering the building he was refreshed with the cool air from the air conditioning that swept over him, it made a nice change from the heat outside. Considering there were two dead bodies in the building it was a relief, however the rotting flesh could still be smelt. Gordon was greeted by a young African American man in his mid twenties by the name of Detective Ethan Bennett. He styled a goatee beard and shaved head, the evident lack of sleep by the bags under his eyes was enough to tell he was new to the job. However he was more than capable, he was a tough kid that was willing to do anything to prove his worth to the force and this radiated off him in the best possible way. If anything, the lack of sleep was proof enough that he was doing his job right. He had replaced Detective Wuertz after his untimely death at the hands of Dent – though the rest of the city and the police department were told differently. Gordon was just pleased to have someone with a clean slate on the team for a change.

"Alright, what have we got Bennett?" Gordon asked Detective Bennett as he walked through the surprisingly large stock room with him to take a look around. A few Officers were dotted around the place not appearing to be doing much, just keeping an eye out for anything unusual that could be lying around.

"Well it's definitely not the usual kind of double homicide sir." Bennett informed Gordon as he made his way by the victims' bodies.

"What's unusual about it?" Gordon asked as he looked at Bennett and gave him a strange look. Surely it couldn't have been that bad, what the hell was he talking about?

"Take a look at the bodies and see," Bennett told him as he nodded toward the other side of the room. Gordon looked over to where he was gesturing and saw the bodies of two men propped up against each other by the wall one in brown pants, the other in navy both wearing white collared shirts loosely. However this wasn't what grabbed Gordon's attention because as soon as he looked at the bodies he immediately saw what Bennett was talking about. The faces on the victims were fixed into a state of horror, dried eyes wide open and mouths scowling. Their hands balled into fists at their sides In Gordon's years on the force he'd never seen anything quite like it. It was as disgusting as it was intriguing and Gordon decided to take a better look but Bennett held him back.

"I wouldn't get too close to them just yet Commissioner," he told him. Gordon seemed a little puzzled but held back to hear what he had to say.

"Looks like some kind of cardiac arrest, by the look on their faces I'd say it was Crane's fear toxin." Gordon informed Bennett who absorbed the information, he'd looked into Crane's case file many times but thought for sure that the police had confiscated all of the compound when Crane was making deals with the mob. Bennett took a deep breath, the stress was getting to him, it was already becoming a complex case of high importance with the possible involvement from Crane. However he didn't want this to show, he wanted to be one of the few good guys and gain the trust of Gordon by doing his job right.

"The placement of them suggests that they were moved here and due to the fixed sitting position from the rigor mortis it was most likely as they were still dying. After all, dead weight's a lot harder to shift especially if it was only one or two men doing it which in a place like this is a lot more likely than a bunch of guys if they wanted to move them discreetly." Bennett informed Gordon who nodded along knowingly but encouraged him to continue by saying nothing, so he did.

"We haven't touched the bodies in case there were traces of whatever it is on them, though it more than likely is Crane's toxin. With that said, we have no idea what happened to lead up to this or whether it could have been tampered with. We're probably taking a risk just standing near them for all we know but for now it's just a safety precaution to stay as far away as possible whilst observing them." He concluded, the whole time Gordon was staring at the horrific look on the faces of the corpses. It was times like this he was thankful he never got anything quite like this when he was a rookie, it would have no doubt scarred him for life. Though he was impressed with how well Bennett was holding up, though he was a Detective, he was still young.

"Crane's toxin probably has been tampered with for them to end up like that. It caused fear but never to the point of a heart attack. You know Bennett, during all my years on the force, I haven't seen anything quite like _them _and considering what we had running round a few months ago I think that speaks volumes." Gordon didn't want to mention _him_ again but it was true. Detective Bennett shook his head but he knew what Gordon was talking about.

"Hopefully there'll be some kind of prints on the bodies. Has anyone managed to get a hold of the club owner?" Gordon decided to ask.

"No sir, we've attempted to reach him at his home number but the line was dead. We don't have his cell so we've sent a couple of Officers over to his address." Bennett informed Gordon who was pleased with the young man's initiative, he hadn't worked on many cases so far and he was already acting like he'd been doing it for years despite the obvious tiredness in his eyes.

"Noted him down at a suspect?" Gordon implied to which Bennett nodded slightly.

"Already have," he affirmed.

"When were they found?" Gordon asked Bennett who gestured to the bodies as he replied.

"They were found by one of the barmaids at approximately 8:30 this morning. We've gathered that she must've had her own key to open the place up, came back here to check on the stock and got the fright of her life. We got a distress call from a male member of staff that arrived around 20 minutes prior to the discovery. They're both here but the barmaid's still a little shaken up," he informed Gordon who knew all too well what the poor girl must have been going through to come for a regular day's work and find these horrifying corpses laying there in such a fashion. Gordon knew right away that he needed to talk to Essen about the matter and he trusted Bennett enough to take care of the situation on his own.

"I'm putting you in charge of this crime scene Bennett so stay here with the boys and make sure nobody tampers with the evidence. If Detective Essen's finished questioning the kids, get their details and make sure they get home safe. We may need to question them later on, oh and close the place down until further notice." he asked Bennett.

"Yes sir," Bennett replied with professional enthusiasm, he was complimented by the fact that Commissioner Gordon trusted him with the scene of such an important crime and there was no doubt something unusual starting to unravel. Yet little did Ethan Bennett know that the suspects were already being collected in Gordon's mind.


	4. The Meeting

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I know I must be annoying people with changing this story for the second time but I wanted to make it even better so please bear with me!

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**The Meeting**

It was 11:10 am and the 'day off from work' shoppers mixed in with the unlucky masses that were to attend their workplace that day were crowding the streets of Gotham. The traffic from the morning hadn't subsided as vehicles were _still_ relentlessly beeping at each other in frustration whilst the people were _still_ red faced and growing increasingly agitated with the heat. Amongst the humidity and frustration stood Wayne Tower, the beacon of momentum that was the birthplace of the city's pharmaceutical products as well as the health care system and computer technology. Wayne Enterprises was the revolutionary force that was Gotham's heartbeat.

The lobby of Wayne Tower was overwhelming to the gentleman that stepped through the glass doors onto the pristine marble floor of the illustrious building. A man of average build, his black suit jacket made his frame appear larger than it actually was. His light brown hair was slicked back with precision without a single hair being out of place and his clean shaven face accentuated his features. The topaz eyes and hollow cheek bones made him even more handsome and to the naked eye this definitely hid his breathtaking intelligence well. His shoes displayed the brightness of the marble floor in them and it was clear to anyone who cared to notice that he had spent a lot of time on polishing the fine black leather that encased his feet. Not that the busy employees that passed him by cared to notice something as trivial as this, however there were the handful of female ones that took a quick glance his way though this was completely understandable. The matching black leather briefcase in his hand was not so much for purpose as for show; after all walking into such a building without one would have surely been blasphemy. He certainly looked professional but if anything, all of these things concluded that he was the epitome of a perfectionist.

He looked around, admiring the beautiful cleanliness of the building as various workers walked by him quickly on their way out to an early lunch. Everything about it was glamorous, even the black marble that made up the reception area gleamed in the light and the pretty brunette receptionist sitting behind the desk must have easily been in her early 20s. If he wasn't engaged to another beautiful and outstandingly intelligent woman, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have been tempted by her. To the right of the vast space were two reasonably sized guards by the elevator doors; it was obvious that the place had decent security. He had seen the security camera on the outside of the building as well as the ones carefully placed around the lobby. After making his observations of the building he approached the reception desk and leaned on the black marble top to get the young receptionist's attention.

"Hello," the man smiled politely at the pretty receptionist who looked up from the paperwork in front of her that she had evidently pretended to write on to make herself look busy when she saw him approaching. She returned a smile to him despite the false interruption.

"Good afternoon sir, how may I help you?" the young woman asked attentively.

"I was wondering where I should go, I have a meeting with Mr. Wayne and Mr. Fox at 11:30." He replied to which the receptionist nodded lightly and turned her attention to the computer sitting by her. She frowned, clicking the mouse a few times and returned her gaze to him.

"Your name sir?" she pried and as though on cue came a distant voice.

"Ah, Mr. Nashton I presume?" their attentions turned to the direction of the melodic tone, the young woman recognising who it was instantly stood up out of her seat with respect.

"I'm sorry for the interruption," the experienced looking man with greying hair approached the man known less formerly as Edward. There were two other men accompanying him wearing similar suits in black as opposed to his dark grey one.

"You gentlemen can take an early lunch," he stated and then nodded at the men to leave; who they were and what they must have been discussing suddenly didn't appear to be important.

"Good afternoon Mr. Fox." The receptionist smiled at the older man. It was clear that this was the man he had come to see, the CEO of Wayne Enterprises himself. Edward was taken aback by the fact that such an important man would greet him in the main lobby of the building all places.

"Good afternoon Grace," he replied, smiling warmly at the receptionist who appeared to be satisfied and sat down obediently and continued to make herself look busy now that she was no longer of assistance.

"Then you must be," he was cut off by the older man who offered his hand, the firm handshake that followed cemented the introduction.

"Lucius Fox, welcome to Wayne Enterprises. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Nashton."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too sir," Edward replied politely with a charming smirk.

"I know it's a little early for our meeting but please, come right this way." With this Lucius gestured for Edward to follow him, which he did. Walking past the respectful employees who quickly said hello to the boss the two men approached the elevator and waited by the guards who automatically straightened themselves up in their boss' presence. Pressing the button it took a mere couple of seconds before the elevator arrived and its doors opened. Two employees stepped out and greeted Lucius with a "good afternoon" and a nod before rushing off.

"I have to tell you Mr. Fox, when Mr. Hartigan informed me about this meeting I was surprised. I hardly expected the CEO, let alone the owner of such an important company to find the time to see me. I'm sure you and Mr. Wayne are very busy men." Lucius couldn't help but smirk at this, it was typical that Edward would think he and Mr. Wayne were not too caring about the people who worked for them as long as they made money and it was an error made all too often by many.

"That we most definitely are but we're very hands on when it comes to the company's best interests Mr. Nashton. Your possible role here is of major importance to us," Fox informed him as the elevator doors reopened into another beautifully clean part of the building on the top floor. Turning to the left and walking down the corridor Edward quickly reflected on the unusual nature of meeting with someone so important. Then again, Edward had never dreamt of his network being used on such a large scale.

Entering the oak double doors at the end of the corridor the two men entered a large room that was Lucius Fox's office. The brightness and simplicity of it was unbelievable, the bare white walls combined with the black laminated floor and the ridiculously large windows that were present on either side of the room made the space appear that much more incredible. In the middle of the room was the secretary's desk, a blue lamp was placed to the left of her and two large black oval shaped vases sat on the matching black top. In front of her were a large stack of papers with a pot of pens and other stationary. On the furthest side of the room was Lucius' desk that matched yet was no bigger than hers. The secretary herself was another 20 something woman who immediately stood up on their arrival, offering a smile.

"Welcome back Mr. Fox," the young woman said to Lucius who smiled back as he removed his suit jacket and handed it to the young woman.

"Thank you Miss Hardy, would you be so kind as to take Mr. Nashton's jacket please?" The politeness of the man was admirable considering his position of power, he indeed could have been as rude to her as he liked yet he wasn't. It was a nice change for Edward from some of the jobs he'd had in New York, his last boss in particular was a right cold bastard who cared very little about the people working for him.

With this thought put to the back of his mind, Edward unbuttoned his jacket revealing his spotless white shirt underneath before handing it over to the young woman who smiled at him and couldn't help but notice her blush slightly at his smile as he thanked her. Bowing her head slightly to hide her embarrassment she walked over to the coat pegs placed carefully onto the bare white wall and hung up Lucius and Edward's suit jackets before returning to her black leather office chair. Although he knew it was somewhat irrational considering he should have still been feeling flattered at the woman's obvious display of attraction towards him, Edward hoped that she had clean hands. After all Mr. Nashton had spent quite some time that morning ensuring that his jacket was in top condition for this special meeting. The two men walked over to Lucius' desk where yet another large stack of papers were placed.

"Please take a seat," Lucius told Edward who obeyed, taking a seat on the black leather chair that sat in front of him in the impressive workspace. Opposite Edward on the other side of the table was a larger black leather seat, sitting on the table was a golden name plate inscribed 'Lucius Fox: CEO'.

"I'm sorry for interrupting before your meeting's begun sir but Mr. Wayne's on the phone." The secretary shouted over before Lucius had the chance to sit down.

"I'll just be a minute," he informed Edward who nodded in compliance. As Lucius walked over to answer the phone the thought occurred to Edward exactly how private this meeting would be with his secretary sitting in the same room as them. Then again, he couldn't hear Lucius' conversation with Mr. Wayne even though he was listening to hear what could have only been a cancellation of the meeting. Edward turned around to see Lucius walking back over to continue the meeting.

"I'm afraid to say that Mr. Wayne won't be attending today, it appears that something unexpected came up last minute." Lucius informed Edward who wasn't the least bit surprised.

"I understand. I'm sure Mr. Wayne's a very busy man." He smirked knowingly.

"Well being owner of Wayne Enterprises has its up sides too I suppose. It's a shame, he was keen on meeting you, it seems the display of work you did for Daggett Industries has made a lasting impression on him." Lucius smiled again as he removed his suit jacket and placed it on the back of his chair. Why he didn't get the secretary to hang it up was a mystery. However Edward was somewhat flattered that someone so important was so impressed with his abilities.

"I'm honoured that Mr. Wayne feels that way. However I do feel that my work hasn't reached its full potential yet." Edward replied and this was true, he felt that there was much work to be done on the system he had been working so intensely on. The move from New York had set him back a little after all. Lucius leaned back and smirked again.

"You shouldn't be so modest Mr. Nashton; it's certainly been a while since Wayne Enterprises has considered employing a new network engineer to work on such a large scale. The truth is that they're usually placed in the electronics department for limited research purposes. The truth is that we've been in need of someone fresh who has innovative ideas. Mr. Wayne likes employees who can improve themselves and make real breakthroughs, not only just to help their own credibility but the company's too. We pride ourselves on having some of the greatest minds working for us." He informed Edward who knew this all too well.

"As flattered as I am by your praise sir, I still think the network needs a lot of adjustments to reach its full capabilities of protection for the company. I also have some programs I'm intending to work on for a speedier office network." Edward wanted to work on it right then, his fiancé had been setting him back on working by discussing wedding plans and silly little things such as her personal work matters which obviously went completely over his head. He was much too busy trying to come up with ideas for his new security system amongst the other programs he had been intending to work on.

"As I said before Mr. Wayne wants people who can improve. You appear to be the only man who can get this job done and maintain the network correctly when it's up and running. With a mind like yours working here, I believe we're in safe hands to move forward. Although all this has sounded as though I've done nothing but praise you but the fact of the matter is that your reputation from your previous position at Daggett Industries in New York is sterling. The fact you've developed this network in your own time is a great testament to your intelligence. I didn't realise you were working on other programs also, that's very impressive considering you're also working on those independently." Lucius informed Edward who was welcomingly absorbing the praise he was being given.

"Thank you sir," he smirked, it was nice to have someone talking about his work for a change and not have to listen to his fiancé talk about the nutcases she worked with on a daily basis. He never liked to discuss those things with her anyway; it angered him that she was spending so much time on low lives such as them.

"There is something I must discuss with you concerning the company's private files however." Lucius told him, leaning forward and lowering his voice.

"Of course," this perked his interest as always. He had been given this speech many times before and had always been tempted to take a look at private company files himself

"As you can imagine there have been a significant amount of attacks on our computer network over the years, individuals trying to hack into confidential company files and such. Many have been minor security breaches, most likely from amateur hackers looking for a bit of excitement. You may hear speculation that they were our own employees which in certain cases, I have no qualms in saying is completely true. However there have been the few major breaches that have really shaken things up here. There are a lot of faults in our current system and till now we've struggled to keep these hackers away. With that I have to tell you the main reason for our meeting today Mr. Nashton." Lucius carried on in his low tone. Since his appointment as CEO at Wayne Enterprises he had not been able to pay much attention to the protection of company files. If Coleman Reese was able to discover irregularities and get a hold of information from the archives, in turn retrieving the blueprints to his 'baby', although Mr. Wayne had disposed of the files in a desperate act, there was no telling what people could get their hands on in the computer system.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're saying." Edward played dumb; of course he knew what he was talking about. Although he hadn't been in Gotham for long he had heard and seen enough to know that it wasn't an honest place. It was the crime capital of the country after all and this was enough for him to know that Wayne Enterprises would have been one of the main points of attack for criminals. There would be details of clients as well as other important documents concerning shipment times and employee profiles. They were all things that could be easily accessed.

"I know you haven't been here for long but you have to understand that Gotham is a crooked place. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who cannot be trusted. Now I didn't lie to you before about the importance of your position. The security network you've devised is groundbreaking technology which makes it vital to us. There are people in this town that would do anything to get their hands on our personal information, whether it is for profit or competitors trying to shake up the company. No matter what the severity of the security breach is, we must have someone dependable to help us. I used to deal with these matters myself before my appointment as CEO and I know I probably shouldn't be saying this right now but the fact is that we need you here." Lucius told Edward, after all blind faith was the only thing you could have in Gotham and it had occurred to him and Bruce that a new resident to Gotham would be better for them to appoint.

"I understand sir. I'll do all I can to ensure that doesn't happen." Edward smirked, he couldn't let curiosity get the better of him though, he'd already made that mistake before and it couldn't be made again. This time he'd keep his eyes away from things he shouldn't know and if he came across them by mistake, well that was just tough luck.


	5. Power Struggle

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **The characters in this chapter are from 'The Long Halloween' and 'Dark Victory' by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale who are a brilliant duo :) Francesco Benedetti is my own creation.

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**Power Struggle**

It had been almost a year since Carmine Falcone was first locked up in Arkham. Day after day, Falcone stared vacantly at the wall of his cell as the drugs took their toll. The odd outburst would emerge, often consisting of screaming an incoherent string of aggressive words at the top of his lungs, in turn forced the staff to inject him with more mind numbing narcotics to calm his nerves. They knew who'd caused him to be this way and had tried the antidote before but it had little effect, it was too much too late to save him after all, the mind can only take so much and Carmine's had taken more than enough punishment from the brutal compound. The man who had taken over the family business, one Salvatore Maroni had been killed in a car 'accident'. Though the details of how this event occurred were blurry to the entire city, which oddly included his family who usually knew every dirty little secret about everything you could possibly read about in the papers. Although the absence of these two men left a bitter taste in the mob's mouths, it did not stop the Roman Empire from running. In fact, there had recently been a struggle for power between families.

Although it had already been determined that sovereignty over the criminal empire would be returned to the Falcone family, the sons of Salvatore Maroni, Pino and Umberto were hell bent on the idea that they could retain their father before them had attained in the result of Carmine's unfortunate situation. They wanted every gang in the city eating out the palm of their hands and this would be a much easier feat after the Joker's little rampage through the city. After all, even the mob's morale was low and it seemed a new figure head had made his way into town, a man that could possibly help the Maroni's claim back the empire without getting their hands dirty.

The funerals of important people are significantly more common in Gotham than most places and there had been many of them in such a short space of time five months prior to this one; countless police officers one of which being a Detective, a Judge, a Commissioner, a high flying lawyer, a District Attorney and high ranking mobsters of Gotham's crime syndicate such as the Chechen, Gambol and Maroni. Today however brought the death of a family friend to the Falcone's, a man by the name of Milos Grapa who acted as bodyguard to Carmine Falcone for years before his 'retirement' not too long after Falcone's sentencing to the asylum. It was a catholic sermon, similar to that of Salvatore Maroni's burial just months earlier however not as extravagant in the sense of where the burial site was. Salvatore was buried in a crypt with the rest of his dearly departed family before him, an expensive grave but a necessary one for someone of such importance who had done so much for the mob during the years building up to his short lived dominance. However Milos wasn't to have an extravagant funeral or grave for that matter, but he was given a presentable headstone in a decent spot of the cemetery, members of the Falcone family attended, the whole time being observed by the Maroni brothers standing by a black vehicle in the distance paying their requests yet not wishing to stand among the Falcone family. It was an odd sight but the Falcone's were not surprised by it.

Milos Grapa died suddenly of cardiac arrest in his family home, in bed with his wife and although no foul play was suspected, it did indeed come as a shock for a man who otherwise held no history of serious illness. Nothing was interrogated like this in the mob; to them if it wasn't a shooting it was simply an act of nature and nothing more could be made from it. After all, why place blame where guilt cannot be proven? There were still some rules, some sort of boundaries despite the freak who nearly dismantled the established order all on his own. If he ever stepped one foot out of Arkham, it was safe to say that he was a dead man.

However as the remainder of the Falcone family stood around the grave amongst the Grapa family and Milos friends in a circle of black suits and veils, a young Mario Falcone, the new head of the crime syndicate and favourite child of Carmine, was approached by one of his 'boys' Francesco Benedetti. The dark haired, green eyed Italian was hitting his mid thirties and was a rising force in the mob family as he was rapidly becoming Mario's right hand man. The young leader himself was handsome, with olive skin, dark brown eyes and beautiful black hair there was no question that he was popular with the ladies however that alone wouldn't help him gain respect from his older associates. That would come with proof of leadership skills and a considerable amount of patience. However he had the determination to keep the family business going no matter who had to be stepped on in the process.

"And so we say our final farewells to Milos, although death is a bitter parting for the living; with that bitterness comes the all the sweetness of being reunited in heaven with the Lord. In this bittersweet parting, let me now recite to you all words of comfort from the Bible, under Psalm 23 in which the holy word states: _The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me..._" the priest continued as Mario appeared irritated by the disruption of Francesco standing by him waiting expectantly for him to ask what was wrong.

"What is it?" Mario enquired quietly as the ceremony continued, his sister Sofia standing on the other side of the grave looked over to him, her brown eyes hidden behind a veil even though she would shed no tears for this man. Although her attention was drawn to her brother's hushed conversation with Francesco, it was with not so much concern as intrigue. She was a tall lady with brown curls cascading around her face and a thin, almost gaunt complexion that could have easily made her look like a corpse if it were not for her crimson painted lips giving her a little bit of life. Engaged to wise guy Rocco Gigante, one of Carmine's right hand men, Sofia resented the fact that her kid brother was Maroni's predecessor and considered the favouritism on behalf of her father to be extremely bad for the family business. Shortly after her father's incarceration, his wife and mother to the three Falcone children disappeared, leaving them no hint of her whereabouts. Needless to say the longing for acceptance from her father and abandonment from her mother left a bitter taste in Sofia Falcone's mouth, one of which she could never express.

"The police found two bodies in The Sapphire half an hour ago," Francesco informed him, his green eyes darting around the circle of mournful faces to see Sofia avert hers swiftly towards the coffin being lowered into the ground. Mario followed his gaze to look at his older sister who pretended to ignore the fact she had been discovered attempting to eavesdrop. His brother Alberto standing beside Sofia pushed his narrow framed glasses up the bridge of his nose as he took a quick glance over at Mario. He looked more like the educated type, a doctor or scientist to anyone who judged on first appearances and this could have been true if he did not waste the opportunities he was given time and time again. He had always been a disappointment to Carmine, the son that he never wanted to admit to. However the bond between him and his sister was evident and it was possible that the familiar feeling of longing to be accepted by Carmine was what kindled this connection.

"Whose?" Mario asked Francesco. This was a problem he didn't need; he had enough problems trying to take care of his new responsibilities and keeping the Maroni boys off his back who were still staring over at the ending ceremony.

"Some small time guys called Moretti and Taylor," Francesco informed him but the names rang no bells.

"Shooting?" Mario replied.

"Nah, the cops think it's somethin' to do with the compound Crane was spreadin' round." Mario tried his best not to look panicked as he felt his sister's eyes on him once more. He had to think fast about what he was going to do.

"I thought the cops got rid of it all?" If only life were that easy for him.

"Looks like there was some left, either that or some of Gordon's crooked troops took some for someone else to use." Francesco made a good point and if that was the case, who wanted the drugs? Crane was locked up in Arkham but was he still giving people orders to spread his deadly compound through the city? It seemed that Mr. Falcone would have to do a little investigative work too.

"We need to find out what connections these dead guys have, if any. Ask around, someone's gonna know somethin," Mario told Francesco who took nodded whilst taking a mental note.

"What about after that?" he asked waiting for his boss' instructions.

"What do you think?" Mario looked at Francesco, chewing the inside of his cheek slightly. It was the look he gave when he was irritated and Francesco didn't need to be told again. Like his father before him said, in the mob you don't ask the boss what to do – you wait for instructions.

"Is there a car waitin' for me?"

"It's there if ya need it boss," Francesco turned his head to look behind them as did Mario to see a black car sitting there, recently driven up by one of the lackeys. Mario nodded at Francesco and gestured for him to follow as he began to walk away from the grave, keeping an eye on the Maroni boys to his left in the distance the whole time. Francesco followed closely behind him. Sofia followed the men with her eyes the entire time as

"Then I'm gettin' in it, I need to do everything I can to find those sons of a bitches, they ain't bein' reckless with that crap Crane made just to have us take the heat. If the cops know then it's only a matter of time before they come lookin' to pull my ass up over it." He continued, looking behind him at his sister who this time refused to break eye contact this time. What she was so pissed about was a mystery to Mario but he didn't care enough to think about it. He had bigger things on his plate than an angry woman.

"They can't prove you had anythin' to do with it, we ain't got any of it." Francesco assured him but this wasn't enough to put Mario's mind at rest.

"Connections are all they need, don't forget that Crane helped keep my father's guys outta prison before the bastard turned on him and more importantly the Chechen dealt with that psycho a while back. He was connected to our little operation at the time before that other nut job bumped him off. I'm tryin' to get things back on track here, I don't need this shit." The two men paused as they reached the vehicle and Francesco opened the door for his boss.

"Get another car round for Sofia and Alberto, tell them we need a family meeting later and tell Sharp I'll have to postpone our little get together."

"I'll make some calls," Francesco confirmed before closing the car door though the blacked out bullet proof window didn't keep Mario's face hidden for long as the car engine started up and Mario wound the window down for one more demand.

"I almost forgot to tell ya to get some of the guys to watch those two. I don't trust the way they're standin' over there like that." Mario looked over to the Maroni's and Francesco didn't even need to look to know who he meant. However the thought never even occurred to him that they were up to no good, what with them being part of the Roman Empire and all.

"I'm sure they ain't doin' no harm," Francesco smirked and straightened his suit jacket before reaching into the inner pocket for his cell phone to make all of those essential calls. However Mario wasn't amused by this and snarled at Francesco slightly, his mouth curving up slightly on one side.

"Don't be, now do what I told ya." And with that the window blocked his complexion once more before the vehicle set into motion out of the graveyard leaving Francesco to make some calls and sort things out.

Back at the burial site the coffin was fully lowered into the ground and people stood there in mourning for their lost companion, all apart from Sofia Falcone who was more interested in her brother's affairs.

"I wonder what's so important that Mario feels the need to leave so early. He ain't even paid his respects properly," Sofia observed quietly to her remaining brother that stood beside her, biting her dark red bottom lip with her mouth closed and staring at the black vehicle driving off through narrowed accusing eyes. Any reason to nitpick at Mario was reasonable to her but Alberto didn't agree despite the milder dislike he held for his brother.

"It's useless getting all bent out of shape about it Sofia, he's a busy man." Alberto stared from behind the thick pieces of glass that covered his eyes. Although he wished for the power Mario held for himself, he still respected that with the position his brother held came the great responsibility of pulling, not only the family name out of the dirt but the business too. With this said, Sofia was dissatisfied at Alberto's lack of participation in voicing his frustrations about Mario.

"I didn't say I was," she snarled again at Francesco who stood on the phone in the distance, making those all important calls.


	6. Gotham by Night

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Another new chapter, enjoy! :)

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**Gotham by Night**

Nightfall was a dangerous time in Gotham. Everyone knew that once the sun had disappeared, the rats came out to play, one rat in particular being the Batman. The Dark Knight that haunted the dreams of petty thieves and lived in the shadows; an unusual creature of the night that had the city divided in their opinion of him. Though the haters were gradually beginning to outweigh the supporters as more speculation by the media was churned out shedding a negative light on him to the point that they castrated him of his former accomplishments, stating that a man who thought he could kill a saviour like Harvey Dent and get away with it, didn't deserve any praise whatsoever. To them he was a vigilante, a lost cause, a fallen hero.

Commissioner Gordon stood in front of the water tower of an apartment building rooftop not far from his home, it took some doing to get up onto the roof but then it was necessary. The police station wasn't a safe place anymore meaning compromises had to be made. It was difficult enough to get in touch with him, never mind specify a point of rendezvous. The number he possessed under another pseudonym often kept ringing out to receive no answer. However on this particular night he had gotten lucky as he was coming to help and Gordon needed him on the case. Waiting for his visitor to swoop in from the shadows, Gordon looked at his watch quickly before putting his hand back in his suit pocket. Luckily it was a warm night, the nights had been warm for about 2 weeks now but then that was the Gotham summertime for you; it was just as harsh as the winter season.

Gordon looked up at the night sky, looking for a sign when a distinct flap came from behind him. Turning around quickly he saw a dark figure emerge from the shadow behind the water tower. The small slither of light reflecting off it revealing a piercing blue eye that stood out with the black cowl surrounding it, a black pointed ear extending from the top of the heard and strong masculine jaw. There was no mistaking by the appearance that it was him – it was the _**Batman**_.

"When all this started I didn't think for a second that it'd become even more difficult to get in touch with you." Gordon smirked slightly as he approached the shadowy figure.

"What have you got?" his voice rasped in a low tenor, though it may not have been his real voice, and Gordon thought it possible that it wasn't, it was certainly fitting to his appearance in its gravitas.

"We found two bodies in The Sapphire Lounge this morning, two wise guys called Harry Taylor and Tony Moretti. They were involved with a few racketeering jobs a couple of years ago as well as some small time robberies. We had warrants for their arrest concerning an armed robbery in a jewellery store a couple of weeks ago. The bodies had been moved when we got there but we didn't find any prints on the clothing." Gordon informed the Dark Knight who absorbed every bit of it.

"You said earlier that there was something unusual about the bodies," Batman enquired to which Gordon nodded slightly in confirmation.

"No bullet or knife penetration was found and their faces looked like they'd inhaled Crane's compound but as far as I know all of that got incinerated after we confiscated it." He informed the Bat who was standing intently lingering on every word, the wheels of his mind turning as he processed the information but then again, he was a quick thinker.

"That means there's more of it out there," it was the most probable explanation and even though it had crossed Gordon's mind he didn't want to believe that there was still more of that crap out there. He'd sent for it to be incinerated, even attended the place itself to watch it go in. There must have been tonnes that were confiscated yet there was still more of it. It was typical of Crane to produce so much, in Gordon's opinion he was the epitome of an arrogant ass with the kind of sly smirk that begged for a hard punch whenever he spoke of the little 'experiment' he carried out less than a year ago.

"How's that possible?" Gordon didn't want to believe it; in all honesty he didn't even want to see Crane's smarmy face again.

"Don't forget that Crane perfected the substance before he got sent to Arkham the first time. There's no telling how much he produced in the time he was free and how much of it is still out there but there's no guarantee that we'd get the perpetrator even if he was interrogated. The compound could have changed hands numerous of times." It was true; the compound could have changed hands countless times. Maybe that was the reason that it was so hard for Gordon to keep track of? That and of course all the other events that had happened recently which had distracted him significantly. They were only lucky that the son of a bitch that caused those distractions didn't get his hands on it. That would have meant serious trouble.

"Did you find any of the substance on the bodies?" he asked Gordon who shook his head lightly.

"If there was any on them it had been stolen by the time my unit got there, that means whoever took that stuff is either dead or they have something to hide. The mob is our top priority for now, the history they have with Crane is undeniable." Although this was true, Batman shook his head slightly.

"The mob can wait; Crane's more likely to have information at this point. It's possible that he's been giving someone instructions on how to induce a lethal dosage."

"Why would he do that?" Gordon questioned.

"The more bodies that are found the more credit he gets. Everyone will know that it's Crane's compound causing it and they'll panic, living in fear of another attack like the one in the narrows a year ago. Leaving him satisfied in knowing that he's caused so many to continue fearing him." He really was a quick thinker and it never ceased to impress the Commissioner.

"So he's not forgotten. It sounds plausible enough." Gordon nodded in compliance. It certainly made sense, Crane was a sick individual and one determined to be acknowledged for his self proclaimed 'genius'.

"I'll get in touch with you after we've interrogated him." He assured the Batman before taking his cell phone out of his pocket to quickly check it for messages with a smirk as he continued talking to the Dark Knight.

"That's if you pick up the..." Gordon looked back up "...phone." he finished as he saw nothing there but a water tower and an otherwise empty rooftop. The Batman had once again fleeted into the night, where he went after these meetings was a mystery to Gordon but then how he swiftly exited with such silence was an even bigger one.

"Still have no idea how he does that," Gordon shook his head as he quickly contemplated what Crane's involvement was in this case. A phone call to Arkham was in order of course and although Gordon knew that Crane's new psychologist Dr. Young would be present, he also knew that those psychologists were tough customers; Jeremiah Arkham, the owner and Chief Executive of the institution, being the worst one. In fact Jeremiah alone was of the main reasons he hated having to go up to Arkham. The way he tried to undermine people's intelligence and how he often treated his staff like cattle. Although the asylum were doing all they could to redeem their reputation, it seemed to Gordon that it was a lost cause. In his opinion Arkham was one of those places that was destined to be a revolving door and it would only be that way as long as someone as narrow minded and old fashioned as Jeremiah Arkham was in charge. However much Gordon disliked him, he'd have to endure it because it was time to talk to Crane.


	7. The New Residents

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Finally a little bit of romance! Hope you like it and please give me some feedback? I'd like to know what people think about the story. Oh and my ideal casting for these two characters would be Emilie De Ravin as Harleen Quinzel and TJ Thyne as Edward Nashton, because they're not huge stars, they've got the right look to pull them off and they're both great actors making them perfect in my opinion :)_

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**The New Residents**

Three floors below the rooftop where the Commissioner and Dark Knight had held their meeting was the home of a couple of new residents to Gotham. Of course any new city is a frightening place for those who move there. However a person moving to Gotham was a much rarer thing than it would have been anywhere else. For many of the citizens who were unable to move elsewhere, outsiders moving into Gotham was madness. After all, why move to the crime capital of the country from a much safer environment? Especially considering that many people who were lucky enough to break free from the city never returned. However this was a different matter for Dr. Harleen Quinzel, the Gotham born and bred psychologist who just couldn't bring herself to stay away from her hometown. Though she was no stranger to the place, her fiancé and new employee of Wayne Enterprises, Edward Nashton was. The couple sought to make a new life for themselves making it inevitable for arguments to occur, of which there had been many since their relocating. The apartment they now lived in suited them as wasn't much different to the one they had rented in New York. Although they squabbled about silly things like where to place the couch, the only real obstacle the couple had had concerning their move to Gotham was finding a pet friendly building for their two German Shepherds.

It had been a tough day for Harleen Quinzel as her requests had failed yet again. On top of that the serial killer she had a session with after her meeting with the boss decided it was a good day for an outburst. In the middle of the session when all had seemed to be going well, the man's eyes widened as he fixated them onto the bare wall behind her. Harleen making the mistake of turning around was startled as her patient began to scream uncontrollably. It was evident that he was just another victim of Jonathan Crane's. At least Harleen could be excited to know she would see her old friend and ask him about such things. Jonathan had taken to bragging a lot lately according to what she had heard from the other psychologists. It was his new persona, this Scarecrow character that unleashed his inner torment and hatred for others. Although she wanted to get this demon out of her friend, Harleen was intrigued to meet him. Then again, would have Jonathan Crane really changed that much or was it all just exaggeration? Only time would tell.

Still wearing his white shirt and black pants, Edward Nashton typed away vigorously at his computer in the small room that he had claimed as his 'study' on moving in. What he was working on was for him to know and him alone. Though he was pleased when his achievements were praised, during the planning of his work, he wanted nothing but solitude and of course the little background noise from the television every now and then. After all, he needed to keep up to date on what was happening in the city as he worked. The dogs attempted to distract him many times by scraping their paws down the locked door and whimpering but their cries were ignored by Edward who simply smirked and continued his work. The clock sitting by the computer revealed that it was 8:35 meaning that Harleen would be walking through the door any second. She always worked late but then that was Harleen all over, a workaholic and it remarkably made her feel much more fulfilled, even if she often came home in a bad mood when things didn't go her way.

As Edward noted the time and continued typing, he heard a door open and close swiftly outside. Then paws tapping on the wooden floor as the dogs started barking. A jingling sound came that was halted by a small thud. She was home.

"_Hey babies, did you miss mommy while she was away?"_ a muffled childlike voice came from the other side of the door as the dog's excited barks continued. It was the way she always spoke to them, as though they were children and in a way they were. Her, Edward and the two dogs; they were a family. Hearing shoes being flung and the gentle footsteps of bare feet outside but he knew she'd place them neatly beside each other at the door just to keep some kind of order, it's what he liked. With this Edward decided to get up from the computer and greet his girl. And of course, tell her all about how he had been given an important post at Wayne Enterprises. She always said he could do whatever he put his mind to, and it looked as though she was right.

"Has daddy been neglecting you again?" her voice became clear to his ears as Edward opened the door to see her opening tins of dog food and emptying one into one of the two bowls that resided in the kitchen on the other side of the apartment. One of the dogs began do eat as the other sat obediently by her side waiting for his turn as the other started to indulge in the food given to him, the one sitting by her side emitted a sharp bark at her in answer to the question. Harleen knew that Edward kept himself busy with what exactly, was a different matter and a question that she had often asked that received no answers. It was this reason that she rarely asked him about his work, besides she'd had her fair share of uncooperative people in her life, she didn't want Edward to be one of them and as long as she didn't ask, he wouldn't be.

"Ohh I know, I know," the blonde haired woman replied as Edward took it upon himself to take her by surprise as she was feeding the dogs. He wasn't bothered about the fact that he hadn't fed the dogs again, they were bothersome and as far as he was concerned it was Harleen's job. She liked to mother them so that's exactly what he let her do.

"Don't worry momma's gonna feed you, yes she is." Harleen rubbed the same loyal dog that barked behind the ear before crouching down and emptying another tin of food into the second bowl, the dog beginning to devour the contents of it as she stood back up and placed the empty tin on the counter. Smirking in contentment at her babies, Harleen felt two arms wrap themselves around her waist as something brushed against her ear. Knowing what it was Harleen didn't bother to become startled and instead looked out of the window in front of her at the apartment building next door. Her blue eyes illuminated in the light that shone through the window opposite theirs as she felt a slight pressure cover her back.

"So now you decide to emerge from your pit," she told the intruder behind her as she felt warm lips on her ear lobe.

"Is this going to become a habit now?" a dark whisper drifted into her head, Harleen closed her eyes and smirked as she continued to talk to the familiar presence.

"What?" she whispered back as her mouth stretched even wider, opening up into a grin. She had forgotten all about the day's events already as every thought floated out of her mind and away to somewhere far away from where she was.

"Saying hello to the dogs before saying hello to me," the masculine whisper told her as its owner brushed along her cheek. Harleen moved her head into the shadow beside her to greet a pair of bright blue eyes that rivalled her own, nose touching nose the two smiles painted on their faces made the moment that much more intimate.

"Well I'd say hello to you first too if you were sitting at the front door waiting for me." Harleen smiled before their lips met briefly. Pulling her head away she smiled at him, her fiancé; her Edward.

"Then I will next time," He told her with a smile but he wouldn't. Harleen knew this but it was the sentiment that mattered and the fact that Edward was clearly in a good mood by getting so close to her that made Harleen feel better about what had happened that day.

"You're perky tonight," she smiled again as he twirled her around into another embrace, her arms wrapping around his neck. Of course the height difference was amusing to most, Harleen being a mere 5ft6" whilst Edward towered over her, easily exceeding 6ft.

"Well you would be too if you just got a job at Wayne Enterprises." He spoke softly into her ear as he lowered his head again to reach it and Harleen could hardly contain her excitement. It wasn't often that things like that happened to Edward and being from Gotham herself, she knew how big getting a job at Wayne Enterprises was; especially in Edward's field of expertise.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispered into his ear with a huge grin as she held him tighter. The dogs of course were oblivious, continuing to finish off their food.

"Alright, alright don't choke me," Edward laughed as he pried Harleen's arms from around his neck.

"Sorry, I got a little overexcited." she giggled as he continued to stand there holding her hands, two of them looking like a pair of loved up teenagers as they gazed into each other's eyes with utter devotion. It was times like this that erased the arguments between them as the intensity of these little moments made Harleen remember why she wanted to marry Edward in the first place. Not to mention the fact that she had also wanted to prove her father wrong but that of course was something else entirely.

"So what do they want you to do?" Harleen enquired, using the moment to skirt around the fact that she was asking about his work which he usually didn't wish to tell her about.

"Well they want me to hook the entire system up with my network security system. I told them that I'd work on some other programs for the company too. Apparently Mr. Wayne was impressed with my work." So that was what he was working on, she didn't need the details of course because computers weren't her thing. She often wished that Edward had become a Detective instead, often indulging herself in fantasies of being a crime fighting team, Edward would bring them in and Harleen would cure them of their issues with extensive therapy; it would have been the perfect duo. Alas Edward was too into computing, it was 'where the real money was' according to him and she'd have to deal with that, after all she could still dream.

"_Bruce Wayne_ was impressed?" her brow furrowed as she asked the question, the thought never even occurred to her that Bruce Wayne took any interest in the company he owned. According to the papers he was a reckless drunken lothario who spent money as quick as he made it. Then again, the press had a knack for exaggerating the truth so maybe the stories about the Prince of Gotham only had an ounce of truth to them. It didn't surprise her.

"According to Mr. Fox they need me there." Edward nodded as he answered her question.

"Well this sounds like something to celebrate." Harleen smiled as she took her hands away from Edward's and started to walk slowly to the other side of the apartment to their bedroom door.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Edward smirked as his beautiful grinning girl turned the door handle, her porcelain skin and fair hair were almost blinding as the light from the window lit her features when she turned back around to look at him.

"Well, I was thinking along the lines of candles, dinner, maybe a nice bubble bath?" she bit her lip softly and leant on the door as it opened behind her. Something like sharing a bath would usually bother him, he disliked sharing the water but he always made sure to get a shower shortly after.

"Hmm sounds good," it looked as though a hot night was on the cards. Something the couple hadn't had in a while but then Harleen rarely found herself in the mood, especially after an unsuccessful day.

"Could do me a favour and put the empty dog cans in the trash while I get ready? I won't be a minute," Harleen asked him as she slipped behind the door and closed it. She always liked to keep him on his toes; never reveal anything before you have to, that was the one rule she lived by when it came to this. Edward resisted the urge to go in after her and did as she asked. Taking a look at the filthy empty cans of dog food on the counter; the decision to grab some kitchen towel before handling them whilst down on the kitchen floor the two dogs slept with full stomachs came naturally to him. After all why would he want to get his hands dirty with the disgusting juices from that food? It was absolutely out of the question.

Upon throwing the empty cans in the trash and closing the lid, Edward opened the cupboard door underneath the sink, retrieving a bottle of liquid soap and placing it onto the counter. Turning on the tap and checking the water temperature so that it was lukewarm – just the way he liked it – Edward squirted some of the soap onto his hands and scrubbed at them thoroughly under the tap as the water poured onto them. Reaching for some disposable kitchen paper beside the sink Edward dried his hands and turned the taps off with the same paper. He then left it on the counter top as a reason not to touch the dirty trash can again. Germs can spread like wildfire and poor Harleen hadn't the time to keep cleaning everywhere. It was bad enough that there were dogs to keep clean; then of course Edward took no part in this activity. There was nothing worse than a wet dog.

Growing restless of waiting, Edward decided to exit the kitchen and take a seat on the couch. Turning on the television he changed the channel to catch up on the evening broadcast show 'Gotham Tonight'. It was an interesting show when they had a good topic of discussion on but he evidently wasn't planning on watching it for long. On the coffee table he noticed some mail on the table that Lee had evidently brought in on her return home from work. Looking through the letter he noted that there were none for him, just three or four letters addressed to Harleen which she had taken the liberty of opening on her way up. It was nothing but junk. There for two months and already getting junk mail; typical.

"_Two bodies that were found in The Sapphire Lounge at approximately 10 a.m. this morning, confirmed by authorities as Harold Charles Taylor and Antonio Paulo Moretti have begun the unravelling of a media frenzy."_ The female presenter Lydia Filangeri announced which intrigued Edward enough to keep watching. Murder was always an interesting topic to be discussed on the show and a rarity considering the fact it mainly consisted of greasy politicians using the show to voice their shallow promises to the people of Gotham.

"_It has been discovered that both men being small time crooks who also had a warrant out for their arrest for carrying out an armed robbery on a jewellery store in downtown Gotham two weeks ago were murdered under unusual circumstances."_ Lydia continued from the television screen. Hearing the door open behind him, Edward turned his head to see Harleen stood there wearing one of Edward's white shirts as substitute nightwear; her hair now released from her usual tight bun cascaded around her face. Edward hated the idea of anyone else wearing his clothes but Harleen had always been a cleanly person; disorganised but still hygienic.

"I'll have to start running that bath soon. That is unless you're planning on watching that TV all night?" Harleen smirked as Edward reached out his arm, gesturing for her to join him. He was getting interested in the case that was presenting itself on the television.

"Just seeing what's going on in the city where crime never sleeps, besides this one's interesting." He informed her as she joined him on the couch, wrapping an arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Wouldn't the news be better for that?" Harleen looked up at him, her eyes brightening with the glare from the television. Edward looked down at her briefly before turning his attention back to the screen and smirked to himself.

"The news is too vague. You know how much I like detail."

"I know but watching things like this won't give you a true perspective of the city. If you're going to live here you really need to give it a clean slate. We still have decent people here," Harleen informed him but Edward didn't care. He knew he had no obligation to take her advice and in a place like Gotham, trusting people was a difficult thing. Edward had read up on the things that had happened and tried to convince Harleen that staying in New York a little while longer would be the wise thing to do but she wouldn't listen. She wanted to move back to her hometown and he knew why.

"If there are so many decent people here then maybe you can tell me why you're 33% more likely to be a victim of crime in Gotham than anywhere else in the country?" Edward told her, dragging up the old statistic he'd found during his research on the city before their move again.

"Always with the facts and figures," Harleen was growing tired of Edward having little faith in the place she had always considered to be her home, even when she moved away for all those years, Gotham was the place she belonged. Even walking by the impressive stores and scenery of Fifth Avenue didn't change her mind about that.

"_Investigations are ongoing as to who was behind the crime but the coroner's report has stated the causes of death being by cardiac arrest deriving from an infectious substance that has yet to be identified."_

"Well you don't move to a potentially dangerous city without putting in a little research first."

"Unlike you I believe that just because the statistics are higher, doesn't mean that you can't trust anybody."

"There's nothing wrong with being cautious," Edward smirked, looking into her eyes again.

"Yeah but you're a little too cautious if you ask me." Harleen smiled as their lips met again in a series of brief pecks. Rubbing her nose on his and looking into his eyes the moment was broken by the television.

"_However reports confirm that the unusual substance has created speculation amongst Gotham City Police that the deaths could have been caused by the fear toxin created by ex psychologist and expert of psychopharmacology Jonathan Crane, who used the deadly concoction as a large scale weapon in the narrows disaster less than a year ago."_

"What's wrong?" Edward asked somewhat irritated that their moment had been interrupted but Harleen shushed him. He hadn't been paying attention to the TV during it and Harleen took it upon herself to reach over for the remote sitting on the other side of him, turning the volume up.

"_Though Crane has been locked up safely in Arkham Asylum where he once worked in a position of high influence, we at Gotham Tonight speculate the possibility of there being copycat on the loose, using Crane's toxin as a weapon to destroy criminals as a new radical form of vigilantism."_ The television announced and Edward rolled his eyes, stifling a sigh. Of course it would have been him. The one Harleen hadn't shut up about since moving to Gotham. Apart from that redhead of course but this Jonathan one had been irksome. The stories he'd heard about him from Harleen were enough to know he was an arrogant ass. Harleen often told him how Jonathan would shut himself off from others bar her. To Harleen he was not only a friend but a case to work on; to Edward he was just another nut job who didn't deserve her time.

"They wouldn't let me on his case," Harleen stated quietly as she continued staring at the television. All of the failings that day came flooding back to her, putting her in an even worse mood than before. The thought occurred to her that maybe if she watched the show she'd have something to discuss with Jonathan when she saw him. She knew they wouldn't allow her to poke into his psyche after all and of course, she wouldn't want anyone else to take credit for any breakthroughs in communication if her visit was to be recorded by staff. She knew they'd be watching her. Nobody had even an ounce of trust in their colleagues in that place and it made it a disheartening working environment. Unbeknownst to her, Harleen had also adopted that untrusting attitude from them. She didn't trust Dr. Arkham, she didn't trust Dr. Young, Dr. Adams, even some of the security guards; the list kept growing every day. With that taken into consideration, it was possible that Harleen was a bigger hypocrite than she allowed herself to believe.

"Maybe it's for the best," Edward assured her, sick of hearing about Jonathan Crane, he'd immediately lost interest in the case and wanted the TV off. However he noticed the remote firmly placed in Harleen's hand as she broke away from him and leant forward in interest.

"_Theories on whether this killer is the Batman who brutally murdered the late District Attorney Harvey Dent or whether the murderer has been influenced by his reckless behaviour are what we will be addressing tonight."_ Gotham Tonight loved it when they had a juicy story to make things up about and apply their own crazy theories; after all it got them the ratings they wanted.

"Typical, they find two bodies and they've already created a conspiracy theory." Edward scoffed, though he usually would have taken interest in this, especially considering the Batman was now being dragged into the picture, Jonathan Crane ruined it for him. Though he was more likely no better than the other freaks like Crane and the guy dressed up like a clown; the fact that he'd killed a number of people including a mob boss and the old D.A. made him a contradiction, an enigma. Why spare the life of a homicidal psychopath and kill the D.A.? Edward was intrigued by it and he had done a considerable amount of homework on him in between working.

"_Here to discuss the strange substance with us is local scientist and pharmaceutical expert Dr. Kirk Langstrom."_ The television continued but Edward didn't pay attention, he was seething.

"_It's a pleasure to have you here Dr. Langstrom,"_ Harleen watched as a 30 something man appeared on the screen sitting in a chair opposite the host's desk. Light brown hair and a strong jaw, he was an attractive man but Harleen was only concerned about what he had to say about her friend.

"_It's a pleasure to be here Lydia,"_ the man smiled which Lydia reciprocated.

"Come on Lee turn it off," Edward was becoming more agitated and restless.

"I want to talk to him about this." Harleen blurted out, forgetting that she had yet to tell Edward about her planned visit to see Jonathan Crane that weekend. Edward's mouth became stern as he stared at the back of Harleen's head, his blood beginning to boil at the thought of her fleeting off to see that psychopath in her free time; _their_ free time. He was furious and the night was officially ruined.

"You mean 'he' as in?" Edward asked attempting to suppress his frustration although he knew all too well who she was talking about. Harleen realised her mistake and turned to look at him, hoping he wouldn't be too mad about not being informed sooner, though she really didn't get much of a chance to do so with his new job getting in the way.

"I'm seeing Jonathan on Saturday." She told him, the innocence in her voice exuding more than usual.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" Harleen turned around to face the television again, placing the remote on the coffee table in front of them.

"Because we were talking about your new job," she informed him gently, her mood was beginning to rival his own with the evident hostility Edward held towards the idea that she was going to spend her Saturday with Jonathan Crane. Not wanting to hear anymore about Crane from the television Edward saw his opportunity and took the remote from the table. Harleen looked at him, daring for him not to touch a button but it was too late for that.

"Well I'm sorry if my success got in the way of you talking about your nut job friend _again_." With that he stood up, turning the television off and walked away into the bedroom, an outraged Harleen pursuing him.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" Harleen asked through gritted teeth as she burst into the room to see Edward sitting on edge of the bed, hunched forward and arms resting on his legs as he stared at the floor, still holding the remote firmly in his hand. Not even bothering to look at her.

"I've kept my mouth shut about this for weeks but I can't just sit back and let you do this to yourself anymore Harleen." Edward told her in a sombre tone before placing the remote on the bed to his right.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harleen moved closer to stand by the bed, staring at Edward in a bid to make him look at her. He didn't.

"Has working in nuthouses for all these years finally made you to lose your mind? That man is _insane,_" the last word pronounced fiercely to emphasise his contempt for the man.

"You don't know him," Harleen was always quick to defend the mentally ill and Jonathan now being one of them made her feel that much more strongly about it.

"I don't need to know him, I've heard enough about him from you to figure out exactly what kind of person he is." Edward had a clear picture of the kind of man Jonathan Crane was. Harleen often described him as 'intelligent' and 'easily misunderstood' which put together meant to Edward that he was one of those arrogant antisocial assholes that only cared about himself. The fact was that he was jealous of Harleen praising any other man, childish enough as it is; that was how Edward felt and he didn't think it irrational in the slightest.

"Jonathan was there for me when I needed him; all I want to do is return the favour. Falling from grace can happen to the best of us, besides you can't form somebody's entire personality just from what people say about them." Harleen continued, growing even more agitated at Edward who couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"He used a deadly toxin on everyone in the city. The inmates from that circus you work in broke out and innocent people died. Don't you realise how serious that is?" Edward shook his head, finally looking up into Harleen's eyes, blue meeting blue briefly before she averted her gaze and began slowly pacing the room with her arms folded.

"I'm not a child Edward, I know what happened but it still doesn't change the fact that he's my friend and he needs me." She carried on, staring at the floor as she walked slowly.

"He's not your friend anymore Lee, didn't you hear what they just said on the TV about him?" Harleen shook her head, smirking to disguise her irritation even though the fact she was chewing her lip at the same time made it undeniable.

"The media exaggerate the truth; there's no denying what he's done but he's lost his way and I want to help him get back on track." Edward scoffed; almost laughing at her, to him every word she uttered was more ridiculous than the last. He'd never change his mind about this no matter how much she was holding her own in the argument. That was the problem with this couple, both stubborn and both intelligent enough to want to prove it as much as they could, even if it was only to each other.

"You know, no matter how much you'd like to think it, this isn't a case of poor little Jonathan having a nervous breakdown due to being under too much stress at work and having to go through a bit of therapy to clear his mind of his daddy issues to get back to his normal self." With this Harleen walked over to the cupboard to her left and opened the door, ignoring what she was doing Edward carried on trying to prove his point.

"To be in a place like Arkham you need to be a sociopath and a homicidal maniac who'd sooner kill someone in cold blood than say one kind word to them." Harleen pulled out a pair of her black work pants off a hanger from her cupboard and began to pull them on.

"What are you doing?" Edward's brow furrowed, though he knew the evening was ruined he didn't see the sense in her getting dressed, especially when she was still wearing his shirt which she tucked into her pants sloppily before closing the cupboard door again.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Harleen asked rhetorically before grabbing a hair tie she had taken out earlier sitting on the bedside table and storming out of the bedroom door. Edward wasted no time in getting up from the bed and following her to the front door where she began to put her black patent leather shoes on before turning around and giving him a piece of her mind.

"Oh and do you wanna know what I think?" Harleen told him with aggression, dragging her hair back into a messy pony tail and tying it with the hair tie.

"Please, enlighten me because you've clearly not voiced your opinion enough over the past couple of months." Edward replied to which Harleen shook her head, narrowing her eyes as she glared at him.

"I think you're paranoid," she told him through tight lips as she picked her keys up from the table by the door.

"So now you're insulted because you think _I'm_ paranoid?" Edward scoffed again continuing to glare at the angry woman in front of him who began to raise her voice – something she rarely did.

"You've never liked me doing what I do and you know it! You're just like everyone else when it comes to people with mental difficulties; narrow minded." She snapped to which Edward retaliated.

"I'm not narrow minded and those people you work with are monsters Harleen, it was the same thing with the ones you treated in New York. Your colleagues knew it and there's no doubt the ones you work with now do too but as always you seem to be the only person who can't see that." Harleen sighed and shook her head again.

"You know what? I'm sick of arguing with you," she turned and unlocked the door behind her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Edward made an attempt to move toward her when she took the key out of the lock and opened the door.

"_Out_," she snapped and slipped out before slamming the door shut behind her. He was too late to stop her and wasn't one to go running after people. She was gone and the celebration was officially on hiatus.

* * *

Well the romance couldn't last for long but there's drama galore in this story now haha :) & I'm sure everyone will know who Dr. Kirk Langstrom is from the comics or animated series as 'The Man-Bat'. I'll leave him to a brief appearance only though, I thought it would be fun to include him.


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